Monie Krueger, left, and Belva Pritchett harvest fresh radishes in raised gardens Tuesday at Brown Street United Methodist Church, 905 Brown St. Church members have started a community garden to share the produce they grow with their downtown neighbors who might not have access to fresh vegetables.
(Photo:
John Terhune/Journal & Courier
)

Barb Marshall isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Back bent, head down, eyes focused, she wrestled full heads of red leaf lettuce from a raised garden bed. The lettuce leaves, rimmed with the dark namesake color, shook as she forced the plant loose.

"This red leaf lettuce, it's awesome," she said.

Marshall, pastor of sister churches Brown Street United Methodist and Heritage United Methodist in Lafayette, worked alongside church volunteers Tuesday afternoon picking radishes, lettuces and weeding in the new community garden plots located behind the Brown Street location.

The plots at Brown Street and Heritage are about a month old and in the pilot phase as church leaders explore the options of getting people involved in sustainable agriculture, community building and helping the low-income.

The churches aim to not only grow fresh produce but to nurture a sense of partnership among nearby neighbors at both sister church locations.

Marshall said the church, which was founded in 1851, was initially a neighborhood church, but over time members scattered to the outskirts of Greater Lafayette.

"We'd like it to be for the neighborhood," she said. "We want to reconnect this church with the local community."

The churches also want the project to be more of a community effort rather than a handout program.

Marshall said they want to donate the produce to low-income families in need but also have those families work alongside church volunteers in the gardens to "ideally be part of something bigger and also have food."

"The food is important in itself but so is building the community," she said. "We need more sharing in the community. We're trying to make it personal. It's a way for us to strengthen one another through relationships."

Local residents who are simply interested in gardening can also join, as well as those who want to help with the project.

Kathy McClannen, a member of Brown Street UMC, was one of the volunteers helping Tuesday.

"I just (thought) it sounded like a wonderful opportunity to make a connection with some of our neighbors in a non-threatening way," she said. "(Hopefully) they won't feel like we're asking anything of them but just want to help."

Another volunteer and Brown Street UMC member, Leslie Smyser, said the community garden also allows church members to bond.

"It's a great opportunity for those of us in the congregation to get together outside of Sunday mornings and work on something that's bigger than ourselves," she said.

Because the program is in its pilot year, Marshall and volunteers are working on inviting neighbors by hanging signs on their doors or by bringing them some of the produce.

On Tuesday, after picking the harvest from the Brown Street UMC plots, the volunteers shared the fresh-picked arugula, radishes, Swiss chard and red leaf lettuce with their neighbors on Cincinnati Street.

"The kids and their parents on Cincinnati had a blast trying arugula and Swiss chard for the first time," Marshall said. "The radishes were a hit with many of the neighbors. Several expressed a real interest in connecting through the garden."

They also plan to host large community gatherings such as ice cream socials, pancake breakfasts and cookouts.

Future plans include hosting a seminar on urban sustainable gardening in the fall. Food planning, healthy cooking and gardening education workshops are also among the goals.

Heritage United Methodist Church, 3111 N. 350 East in Lafayette, will host a Burgers and Brats cookout from 3 to 5 p.m. July 19 and a Make-Your-Own Pizza Party from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Aug 16. Participants will be using as many ingredients from the garden as possible to make their pizzas.

A blessing of the gardens will be held at 9 a.m. July 13 at Heritage UMC during an outdoor church service.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call 765-742-1316.